At the Court of an Emperor (he lived it matters not when) there was among the many gentlewomen of the Wardrobe and Chamber one, who though she was not of very high rank was favored far beyond all the rest; so that the great ladies of the Palace, each of whom had secretly hoped that she herself would be chosen, looked with scorn and hatred upon the upstart who had dispelled their dreams.
These are the opening words of the story. Many editions include at some point along here a footnote or other referencing indicator urging the reader to take warning. The warning is geared toward making sure the reader fully comprehends that this is a work composed over a very long period of time. The reason for this point of reference is to indicate the language in the earliest volume has a sort of immature level of sophistication to it which makes the storytelling come across as something of a fairy tale geared toward younger readers. The intellectual sophistication of the language used to tell the story most definitely increases the deeper one penetrates into the story.
“I have at last discovered that there exists no woman of whom one cay, `Here is perfection. This is indeed she.’”
To no Chujo is the brother-in-law of Genji as well as a close friend. They do enjoy a rivalry, however, when it comes to women. When they are not pursuing women for sexual gratification, they are discussing women as objects of misogynistic misunderstanding. To no Chujo’s rationale for the impossibility of perfection existing in a woman has mainly to do with the fact that they—women—are self-obsessed creatures of parental overprotection which has produced the collateral damage of making creating ignorance. The point of this observation, of course, is that it is a perspective that is hardly limited to the speaker. In fact, it is a point of view which is the unofficial policy of the Japanese society portrayed in this tale.
“You must not be sad any more. If I were not very fond of you, should I be looking after you like this? Little girls ought to be very gentle and obedient in their ways.”
And thus her education was begun.
Genji is speaking to Murasaki whom he first met and fell instantly in love with when she was just ten yeas old and he, well, definitely not just ten years old. They develop a close relationship which she, in her total innocence, saw only as—and limited to—that of a father/daughter sort of deal. He, however, has basically been biding his time until it would be appropriate for him to make his move. She is betrayed at the idea of being an object of sexual desire, but nevertheless submits his will and his expectations. And that submission to a will and expectations she did not expect are exactly what prompts the deceptively wry and robustly contemptuous observation by the narrator.
